Spbing-ciamp



R. T. PARKER.

SPRiNG CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED 1v1/111.17. 1919.

1,312,745, PmndA-ug.12,11119.

ROY T. PARKER,- OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

SPRING-CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led March 17, 1919. Serial No. 283,162. i

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Roi T. PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and Statey of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Spring-Clamps, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to .spring clamps for holding the hood or otherpart of an automobile in closed or operative position.

In some types of motor vehicles the hood is clamped into its closed oroperative position by means of a thumb nut which engages a threaded boltpivotally secured on a iiced part of the frame. The thumb screws areobjectionable since they become loose when the vehicle is running, andconsequently cause rattling and possibly injury to the hood or otherparts of the Vehicle.- In order to replace these hood clamps by springclamps, it was heretofore necessary to remove the threaded bolts and theplates to which the bolts are hinged from the fixed part of the vehicleand to attach the spring hood clamps thereto, which involved aconsiderable amount of work and expense.

The objects of the invention are to devise a spring clamp of this kindwhich may be readily placed on an automobile or other vehicle to replacethe thumb nuts, and which can be secured on the threaded bolt, thuseliminating the necessity of removing the vbolt from the frame of thevehicle; also to provide a spring hood clamp of this kind in which thetension of the spring is readily adjustable; also to improve theconstruction of devices of this kind in other respects hereinafterspecified.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 isa fragmentary side elevation of the hood of a vehicle and thespring clamp in its operative position.

Fig. 2 is a central sectional elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional plan view thereof on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof showing the meansfor securing the spring clamp on a threaded bolt and for adjusting thetension of the spring.

A represents a fixed part of the frame or body of a vehicle, and Brepresents a portion of the hood or other hinged or movable part of thevehicle, which is to be clampedor secured on the fixed part A. Crepresents a plate or base on which a bolt D is pivotally secured andwhich may be secured to the base in any suitable manner, for example, bymeans of rivets c or the like. In the construction shown, the bolt D hasa ball and socket connection with the plate C, but any other kind ofhinge or pivotal connectionl maybe employed. In clamps of this kind, asfrequently employed, the bolt D is provided with a thumb nut (not shown)engaging the threaded portion of the bolt,- and adapted to bear againstoutwardly" projecting portions c of a bracket-E secured on the hood B.All of these 'parts may be of any usual or suitable construction and ofthemselves constitute no part of this invention.

The spring clamp which is adapted to rev place the thumb nut usuallyemployed, consists of a casing or housing F having the usual handleportion f by means of which the spring clamp may be moved into or out ofits operative position. The housing F is hollow and contains a spring Grand a spring compressing member or follower I'I. The spring G ispreferably a coil spring fitting loosely into the interior of thehousing F and is held in place. in the housing by means ofa cap orsleeve f which is adapted to fit in the end of the body portion F of thehousing and is rigidly secured to the housing after the spring G and thecompressing member H have been inserted therein by ineansof pins f2 orthe like. The lower endof the cap Patented Aug. 12, 1919.'

is preferably provided with a hole for the bolt I) and is preferablyshaped to conform with the projections e of the hood, to seat thereon.Any other means for confining the spring in the housing may be used.

The inner end of the cap or sleeve forms a shoulder against which oneend of the spring G bears, and the other end of the spring en- 95 ,ofthe housing 'and to turn the housing so as to cause the thread of thebolt to engage with the thread in the hole h of the compressing memberand thus secure this member to the bolt D. Ordinarily the pressure withwhich the spring G presses the compressing member against the inner endof the hollow portion of the housing is suiiicient to permit the bolt Dto be threaded into the compressing member H. In order to avoid anydifriculty in securing the compressing member to the bolt D, the memberis preferably provided With a hole 2'. which is adapted to register witha hole c" in the housing. By inserting a nail or other device throughthe hole z" into the hole z', the compressing member may be positivelyheld against turning relatively to the housing so that the spring clampmay be easily screwed onto the bolt D. Any other means for securing thespring compressingmember to the bolt D may be employed.

In the operation of the device, the operator takes hold of the handleportion f of the housing and pulls the same against the action of thespring to bring the cap portion f of the housing into engagement Withthe projection portions e of the bracket E. The hood Will then besecurely clamped against the fixed part A of the vehicle with a springtension which prevents rattling and also prevents the. loosening orturning of the compressing member H relatively to the bolt D. Thetension with which the spring clamp presses against the projections e ofthe hood can be varied by screwing or unscrewing the spring compressingmember H relatively to the bolt D.

The device has the advantage that it can be readily applied to anyvehicle in which the hood or other movable part is secured by means of athumb screw and has all the advantages of the usual spring clampingdevices, and has the further advantage of being adjustable to vary thetension of the spring as may be desired.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination With two parts, one of which is movable relatively tothe other, and a bolt pivotally secured to one of said parts and havinga threaded portion, of aI spring clamping device including a body.

portion and a spring-pressed member slidable With regard to said bodyportion, said spring-pressed member having a socket in Which thethreaded portion of said bolt is adapted to engage to connect saidclamping device with said bolt, said clamping device being adapted toengage the other part for clamping said parts together.

2. The combination with tivo parts, one

of which is movable relatively to the other,v

and a bolt pivotally secured to one of said parts, of a clamping deviceincluding a body portion, and a spring-pressed member slidable withregard lto said body portion and having a portion adapted'to engage saidbolt 3. The combination with an automobile hood, and a bolt pivoted tothe automobile in operative relation to said hood, of a clamping deviceincluding a housing, a spring in said housing, and a spring compressingmember slidably arranged in said housing and having a threaded hole intowhich the end of said bolt can enter, said sprlng compressing memberbeing adjustable rela-tively to said bolt to vary. the action of saidspring.

4. The combination with an automobile hood, and a bolt pivoted to theautomobile in operative relation to said hood, of a clamping deviceincluding a housing, a spring in said housing, a spring compressingmember slidably arranged in said housing and having a threaded hole intoWhich the end of said bolt can enter, said spring compressing memberbeing adjustable relatively to said bolt to vary the action of saidspring, and coperating parts on said housing and said spring compressingmember with which an object is adapted to engage, for holding saidcompressing meinber against movement relatively to said housing tofacilitate the securing of said member on said bolt.

5. The combination with an automobile hood, and a bolt pivoted to theautomobile in operative relation to said hood, of a clamping deviceincluding a housing, a spring in said housing, and a spring compressingmember slidably arranged in Said housing and having a threaded hole intowhich the end of said bolt can enter, said spring compressing memberbein@ adjustable relatively to said bolt to vary tIie action of saidspring said housing and spring compressing members having holes adaptedto register whereby an object may be inserted when said member is beingse- Witness my hand, this 14th day of March, 919.

RoY T.L PARKER.

Witnesses:

F. E. PRocHNoW, A. L. MCGEE.

